Wheel chair

ABSTRACT

An improved wheel chair for a patient-operator unable to support himself unaided and erect, characterized by a pivotal seat and an auxiliary frame telescopingly coupled with the frame of the wheel chair and employable by the operator in supporting himself erect. A particular feature of the invention resides in the auxiliary frame, which is provided with a pair of vertically oriented legs, supported for displacement in both horizontal and vertical directions, whereby the legs can be spaced from the wheel chair and vertically extended into an operative engagement with the floor, and a lifting-bar fixedly suspended between the legs so that the operator can position the seat of the wheel chair in a desired relationship with respect to a given toilet bowl and draw himself to an erect position, employing the lifting-bar, in order to gain access to the toilet bowl.

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[ WHEEL CHAIR [76] Inventor: Martha L. Haney, 2319 South Lotus Avenue, Fresno, Calif. 93706 [22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 108,870

[52] US. Cl ..297/6, 297/42, 297/DIG. 4 [51] Int. Cl. ..B60h 3/00 [58-] Field of Search ..297/42, 44, 6, 5, DIG. 4

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,584,890 6/1971 Presty ..297/5 X 3,023,048 2/1972 Barton ..297/DIG. 4 3,123,397 3/1964 Murcott.... .....297/DlG. 4 2,859,800 11/1958 Jennings... .....297/D1G. 4 2,609,864 /1952 Gates ..297/44 X 2,733,754 2/1956 Leslie ....297/44 X 2,866,495 12/1958 Diehl ....297/42 X 2,596,055 5/1952 Thomas ..297/5 X March 6, 1973 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Attorney-Huebner & Worrel [57] ABSTRACT An improved wheel chair for a patient-operator unable to support himself unaided and erect, characterized by a pivotal seat and an auxiliary frame telescopingly coupled with the frame of the wheel chair and employable by the operator in supporting himself erect. A particular feature of the invention resides in the auxiliary frame, which is provided with a pair of vertically oriented legs, supported for displacement in both horizontal and vertical directions, whereby the legs can be spaced from the wheel chair and vertically extended into an operative engagement with the floor, and a lifting-bar fixedly suspended between the legs so that the operator can position the seat of the wheel chair in a desired relationship with respect to a given toilet bowl and draw himself to an erect position, employing the lifting-bar, in order to gain access to the toilet bowl.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED HAR 6 I973 SHEET 10F 2 MARTHA L. HANEV lNVfNTOP MW fM A I IORNFVS PATENTEU 6 9 3 MARTHA L. HAA/Ey IN V[ N TOR M1 KM AT ORNEVJ WHEEL CHAIR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention generally relates to wheel chairs and more particularly to an improved wheel chair for use by a patient-operator unable to stand, unaided, and/or to transfer himself from the chair to other structures, such as the seat of a toilet bowl. As herein employed, the,

term patient-operator refers to any human being capable of operating a wheel chair from a position seated thereon.

Quite often patients, such as disabled human beings, are relegated to a use of wheel chairs when they lack sufficient strength and agility to support and propel themselves through a use of their legs. Frequently, such patients retain strength and agility sufficient for transferring themselves, unaided, from a wheel chair to other structures, including seats of toilet bowls and the like. In such instances, currently available wheel chairs tend to function quite satisfactorily for their intended purpose. However, when the patient-operator is disabled to an extent that he must be assisted in his transfer to other structures, a great burden is placed upon his attendants who, as a practical matter, often are not adequately equipped for performing such physical feats. This becomes particularly important where a patient-operator must gain access to a standard toilet bowl of the variety normally found in both home and hospital bathrooms.

The prior art includes numerous wheel chairs of a specialized nature suited for use by a patient-operator suffering from an incapacitating disability. For example, US. Pat. Nos. 3,061,368 and 3,062,582 disclose wheel chairs wherein a selected portion of the seats of the wheel chairs is permitted to be displaced for affording access to a toilet bowl received therebeneath. While such chairs may function quite satisfactorily when employed by patient-operators having limited physical disorders and disabilities, it is noted that where a patient-operator is in a particularly weakened condition, or for other reasons, lacks sufficient suppleness to manipulate the structures for displacing the portion of the seats, the utility of such chairs tends to be greatly impeded. For example, an elderly person may be able to stand with the aid of rigid supporting structure while being unable to bend and twist to an extent necessary to manipulate structure supported beneath his seat. Of course, similar difficulties are encountered by patients suffering from disabling disorders such as a partial paralysis of back and/or limbs.

Consequently, there currently exists a need for a practical wheel chair which readily can be employed, unaided, by patient-operators having sufficient strength to lift themselves, through the use of a rigid support, but having insufficient strength and agility to transfer themselves from a wheel chair to other structures, such as the seat of a toilet bowl.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide an improved wheel chair.

It is another object to provide an improved wheel chair particularly suited for use by a patient-operator capable of lifting himself employing his arms and torso.

It is another object to provide an improved wheel chair which affords an invalid patient-operator access to structures such as toilet bowls and the like.

Another object is to provide an improved wheel chair employable by an unaided patient-operator in lifting and supporting himself for purposes of supporting and transferring his body from the seat of the wheel chair to the seat of a toilet bowl.

These and other objects and advantages are achieved through the use of a wheel chair having a chair frame supporting a pivotal seat in a manner such that the seat can be deposited immediately above the seat of a toilet bowl, and an auxiliary frame telescopingly coupled with the chair frame in a manner such that the auxiliary frame can be telescopingly extended and operatively positioned forwardly of the wheel chair, whereby the chairs patient-operator can position the pivotal seat above the toilet bowl, operatively position the auxiliary frame forwardly of the chair, lift himself, employing the auxiliary frame, and pivotally raise the seat of the wheel chair for gaining access to the toilet bowl.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheel chair embodying the principles of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the wheel chair shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the wheel chair shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the wheel chair illustrating an operative relationship with a toilet bowl.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front view of the wheel chair shown in FIG. 4, illustrating one position assumed by the seat of the wheel chair, when lifted.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a wheel chair, generally designated 10, which includes a chair frame 12 supported by a plurality of wheels including a pair of propelling hand-wheels 14, and guide wheels 16.

The chair frame 12 is fabricated, in a known manner and from tubular stock material, into a generally known basic frame configuration. Therefore, an extensive description of the chair frame 12 is omitted in the interest of brevity. However, it is to be understood that the frame 12 includes a back panel 18, preferably formed of a flexible fabric material, secured between a pair of laterally spaced rear posts 20. The posts 20 are disposed in a substantially upright orientation and terminate in a pair of rearwardly extended handles 22.

The chair frame 12 is further provided with a pair of foot rests 24 pivotally coupled, in a known manner, with a pair of generally horizontal beams 26 extended along opposite sides of the frame 12. A pair of laterally spaced, vertically oriented front posts 28 is provided for supporting the forward or front portion of a chair frame 12. To these posts is coupled a pair of horizontally extended beams 30, which serve to couple the front posts 28 with the rear posts 20 for thus completing the basic framework of the chair frame 12.

Extended in parallelism with the beams 30 there is a laterally spaced pair of coplanar seat supporting rails 32, FIG. 5, which serve to support a planar, rigid seat 34 suspended therebetween. As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the seat 34 is pivotally coupled with one of the seat supporting rails 32, through a piano hinge 36 extended along one edge thereof, in a manner such that the seat 34 can pivotally be displaced between vertical and horizontal planes. As a practical matter, the seat 34 further includes a pair of protruding clips 38 configured to be supportingly'received by the seat supporting rail 32 opposite the rail 32 adjacent to which is fixed the piano hinge 36. Hence, it will be understood that the seat 34 can pivotally be lifted from a horizontal patient-operator supporting position, wherein it is supported along opposite side edges by the seat supporting rails 32, to a vertical position for affording access to the space immediately beneath the plane of the seat supporting rails 32.

In practice, the chair also is provided with a pair of laterally spaced side panels 40 suspended between the front and rear posts 20 and 28, respectively. These panels function in a known manner as protective panels for protecting the patient-operator. There is also provided a pair of tie-bars 42 extended between the rear posts 20, above the plane of the seat 34, for imparting lateral support to the chair frame 12, while accommodating a positioning of the chair above a toilet bowl 43. In practice, each of these bars is pivoted at its center, and is supported by diagonal braces 44 pivotally coupled therewith at its opposite ends. if desired, the braces can be provided with over-center pivot for accommodating a folding thereof in a well-known manner.

Quite importantly, an auxiliary frame, generally designated 50, is telescopingly coupled with the chair frame 12. This frame includes a plurality of parallel beams 52 telescopingly received within a plurality of parallel receivers 54, of a tubular configuration, extended in a fore-and-aft direction relative to said chair frame 12. Preferably, the tubular receivers 54 are welded to the chair frame 12 in a mutually-spaced, parallel relationship so that the beams 52 can be telescopingly extended and retracted, in a fore-and-aft direction relative to the chair frame 12, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Of course, the receivers 54 can be bolted or otherwise affixed to the frame 12.

Preferably, the receivers 54 and the beams 52 are so paired as to provide a coplanar pair of vertically spaced beams forwardly extended, in parallelism, from the opposite sides of a chair frame 12. Each pair of the beams terminates in a substantially vertically oriented leg 56. Each of the legs 56, in turn, includes a tubular receiver segment 58 into which is telescopingly inserted a reciprocably supported base segment 60. Consequently, each of the vertically oriented legs 56 is configured to function as an axially extendible leg.

It should, therefore, be appreciated that the auxiliary frame 50 is, in effect, telescopingly mounted on the chair frame 12 in a manner which accommodates an extension from a stowed configuration on the chair frame 12 to an operatively extended configuration, in fore-and-aft directions, while the axially extendible legs 56 are vertically extendible into and out of supporting engagement with the supporting surface of the floor for the wheel chair 10.

In practice, at least one of the receivers 54 is provided with a spring-loaded locking pin 62 which affords a patient-operator an opportunity to lock the auxiliary frame 50 into a retracted and stowed configuration, as

illustrated in FIG. 2, as well as in an operatively extended configuration wherein the auxiliary frame 50 is forwardly extended from the chair frame 12 with the legs 56 being in engagement with the floor.

Additionally, where desired, a manually operable locking pin 64, similar to the locking pin 62, can be employed in locking the base segments 60 of the legs 56 in an extended and a retracted relationship with the receiver 56. While not shown, it should be apparent that the legs 56 can be spring-loaded for assisting an operator in releasing the base segments 60 for telescoping movement into the receiver segments 58.

Extended between the uppermost end portions of the vertically oriented legs 60 is a lifting-bar 70. This bar is of a length sufficient to span the lateral width of the auxiliary frame 50 and is fabricated from a substantially rigid, lightweight material. In practice, it is preferred that the lifting-bar be pivotally coupled, through a vertical pivot pin 72, to one of the legs 56 so that the lifting-bar can be pivoted in a horizontal plane, between an operative position wherein the bar is extended in a transverse relationship with the chair frame 12, and into a vertical plane paralleling the chair's length. Consequently, the lifting-bar 70 is supported in a manner such that a patient-operator can be afforded access to the seat 34, by pivoting the bar 70 about the pivot pin 72.

Preferably, the lifting-bar 70 is secured in its operative, transverse disposition by a lockingpin 74 vertically extended from the leg 56 opposite the leg 56 to which is pivotally coupled the lifting-bar 70. To accommodate a locking of the lifting-bar 70 in its operative position, a slot 76 is preferably provided in the face of the lifting-bar for receiving therewithin the locking pin 74. While not shown, the slot 76 also is provided with a snap-lock of a convenient design which serves to operatively couple the lifting-bar 70 to the locking-pin 74.

OPERATION It is believed that in view of the foregoing description, the operation of the device will be readily understood and it will be briefly reviewed at this point.

With the auxiliary frame 50 telescopingly coupled to the chair frame 12, in the manner hereinbefore described, a patient-operator is afforded access to the seat 34 by pivoting the lifting-bar 70 toward a vertical plane paralleling the length of the chair frame. Once the operator has seated himself upon the seat 34, the lifting bar 70 is returned to an operative disposition, relative to the chair frame 12. The bar 70 is then locked to the auxiliary frame 50 by means of the locking-pin 74 as it is received within the slot 76.

In the event the auxiliary frame 50 is in an operatively extended configuration, the patient-operator releases the locking-pins64 and retracts the base segments 60 of the vertically oriented legs 56 into the receiver segments 54. If desired, the auxiliary frame is then retracted into a stowed configuration, relative to the chair frame 12, by releasing the locking-pin 62 and telescopingly retracting the beams 52 into the receivers 54 for thus positioning the auxiliary frame in its stowed configuration wherein it is supported by the chair frame 12. The wheel chair 10 is thus readied for employment in a manner consistent with the use of a standard wheel chair and can be employed in an umpeded manner.

Assuming the patient-operator desires to gain access to a toilet bowl, of a design similar to that illustrated in FIG. 4, the wheel chair is backed thereover in a manner such that the toilet bowl is positioned immediately beneath the seat 34. The patient-operator then releases the pin 62 and extends the beams 52 from the receivers 54, and subsequently releases the lockingpins 64 for permitting the base segment 60 of the vertically oriented legs 56 to be brought into a supporting engagement with the surface of the floor. Of course, the base segment 60 must be sufficiently extended to effect a locking of the base segment 60, relative to the receiver 56, by the locking-pins 64. The auxiliary frame 50 thus is extended into its operatively extended configuration.

At this juncture the operator manually grasps the lifting-bar 70 and lifts himself from the chair frame 12, by employing the lifting-bar 70. By employing the auxiliary frame 50, the operator is assisted in maintaining an erect position. Once lifted from the chair frame 12, the patient-operator can gain access to the toilet bowl merely by lifting the seat 34 in a manner such that it is caused to pivot at the piano hinge 36 into a vertical disposition as illustrated in FIG. 5. Once the seat 34 is lifted, the operator is afforded access to the toilet bowl. While not shown, it is apparent that a snap-lock can, if desired, be employed in supporting the seat 34 in its vertical disposition.

In view of the foregoing, it should readily be apparent that the wheel chair of the instant invention provides a practical solution to the problem of assisting disabled persons in transferring their bodies from the seat of a wheel chair to other structures, such as the seat of a toilet bowl.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the illustrative details disclosed.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An improved wheel chair particularly adapted for enhancing the self-sufficiency of a patient-operator in achieving access to bathroom fixtures comprising:

A. a chair frame including a plurality of wheels supporting said frame at its opposite sides for transporting a patient-operator along the surface of a floor, said frame being configured to be positioned above a bathroom fixture comprising a toilet bowl, while supported by said wheels;

B. means for supporting a seated patient-operator, including a transversely oriented, planar seat pivotally supported by said frame above the upper surface of a toilet bowl adapted to be alternately displaced, by said patient-operator, into horizontal and vertical positions; and

C. an auxiliary frame, said frame being selectively retractable rearwardly into a stowed configuration aboard said chair for accommodating a transporting of the patient-operator, and forwardly extensible into a deployed configuration, for supporting said patient-operator in an erect position before said seat including,

1. a pair of vertically oriented, horizontally spaced legs, said legs being supported for selective rectilinear motion in axial directions, whereby the legs are adapted to be displaced vertically into and out of supporting engagement with said surface for selectively imparting stability to said auxiliary frame, when the auxiliary frame is in a deployed configuration,

2. a lifting bar pivotally coupled with one of said legs and positionable into a fixed, transverse relationship with said chair, adapted to be grasped by the patient-operator for assisting the same in arising from said seat,

3. a plurality of horizontally oriented, parallel beams rigidly affixed to said legs and extended rearwardly therefrom, and

4. means including a plurality of horizontally oriented, forwardly extended support members fixed to the opposite sides of said chair frame for receiving said plurality of beams in a telescoping relationship, whereby said auxiliary frame is supported for rectilinear motion relative to said chair for accommodating a repositioning of the frame, by said patient-operator, between said stowed and deployed configurations. 

1. An improved wheel chair particularly adapted for enhancing the self-sufficiency of a patient-operator in achieving access to bathroom fixtures comprising: A. a chair frame including a plurality of wheels supporting said frame at its opposite sides for transporting a patient-operator along the surface of a floor, said frame being configured to be positioned above a bathroom fixture comprising a toilet bowl, while supported by said wheels; B. means for supporting a seated patient-operator, including a transversely oriented, planar seat pivotally supported by said frame above the upper surface of a toilet bowl adapted to be alternately displaced, by said patient-operator, into horizontal and vertical positions; and C. an auxiliary frame, said frame being selectively retractable rearwardly into a stowed configuration aboard said chair for accommodating a transporting of the patient-operator, and forwardly extensible into a deployed configuration, for supporting said patient-operator in an erect position before said seat including,
 1. a pair of vertically oriented, horizontally spaced legs, said legs being supported for selective rectilinear motion in axial directions, whereby the legs are adapted to be displaced vertically into and out of supporting engagement with said surface for selectively imparting stability to said auxiliary frame, when the auxiliary frame is in a deployed configuration,
 2. a lifting bar pivotally coupled with one of said legs and positionable into a fixed, transverse relationship with said chair, adapted to be grasped by the patient-operator for assisting the same in arising from said seat,
 3. a plurality of horizontally oriented, parallel beams rigidly affixed to said legs and extended rearwardly therefrom, and
 4. means including a plurality of horizontally oriented, forwardly extended support members fixed to the opposite sides of said chair frame for receiving said plurality of beams in a telescoping relationship, whereby said auxiliary frame is supported for rectilinear motion relative to said chair for accommodating a repositioning of the frame, by said patientoperator, between said stowed and deployed configurations.
 2. a lifting bar pivotally coupled with one of said legs and positionable into a fixed, transverse relationship with said chair, adapted to be grasped by the patient-operator for assisting the same in arising from said seat,
 3. a plurality of horizontally oriented, parallel beams rigidly affixed to said legs and extended rearwardly therefrom, and
 4. means including a plurality of horizontally oriented, forwardly extended support members fixed to the opposite sides of said chair frame for receiving said plurality of beams in a telescoping relationship, whereby said auxiliary frame is supported for rectilinear motion relative to said chair for accommodating a repositioning of the frame, by said patient-operator, between said stowed and deployed configurations. 